Battle of Tug Argan
By 10 August, De Simone had closed up on the British positions behind the Tug Argan and made his preparations to attack.
On 7-8 August, the British and Commonwealth forces in British Somaliland had received reinforcements with the arrival of the 1/2nd Punjab Regiment and the 2nd battalion Black Watch. General Archibald Wavell—Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command in Cairo—had also ordered a further battalion of infantry and more artillery to Berbera but these reinforcements did not arrive in time. He also considered it appropriate to appoint a major-general to command this expanding force and on 11 August, a new commander—Major-General Reade Godwin-Austen—reached Berbera.
The defensive positions of the British army were centered around six hills overlooking the only road toward Berbera. On 11 August, one of De Simone's brigades attacked the hill defended by a company of the 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment and captured it, taking heavy casualties. The British launched two unsuccessful counterattacks but fought off Italian attacks on two other hills. The next day, all the British positions were attacked. By evening, Mill Hill had been taken from the Northern Rhodesian Regiment after severe fighting. More critically, two of the scarce East African Light Battery howitzers were lost and Italian forces had established themselves in the Assa Hills, dominating the southern side of the gap through which the road to Berbera ran.
On 13-14 August, no further positions were taken despite heavy fighting but the Italians continued to improve their position through infiltration. By 14 August, the defenders' situation started to look critical: the Italians were almost in a position to cut the road and thus the defenders' only line of supply and retreat. On 14 August, Godwin-Austen informed Middle East Command of the situation concluding that further resistance at Tug Argan would be futile and likely to result in the loss of the whole force. He believed that a withdrawal would result in 70% of the force being saved. On 15 August, he received orders to withdraw his forces from British Somaliland.
Late on 15 August, the Italians took Observation Hill and after dark the defenders of Tug Argan commenced their withdrawal. The Black Watch together with two companies of the 2nd KAR and elements of 1/2nd Punjab Regiment formed a rearguard position at Barkasan on the Berbera road some 10 mi (16 km) behind the Tug Argan position.
Read more about this topic: Italian Conquest Of British Somaliland
Famous quotes containing the words battle and/or tug:
“I remember the scenes of battle in which we stood together. I remember especially that broad and deep grave at the foot of the Resaca hill where we left those gallant comrades who fell in that desperate charge. I remember, through it all, the gallantry, devotion and steadfastness, the high-set patriotism you always exhibited.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“What exacerbates the strain in the working class is the absence of money to pay for services they need, economic insecurity, poor daycare, and lack of dignity and boredom in each partner’s job. What exacerbates it in upper-middle class is the instability of paid help and the enormous demands of the career system in which both partners become willing believers. But the tug between traditional and egalitarian models of marriage runs from top to bottom of the class ladder.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)